Japan's SoftBank is prepared to give up control of Sprint to T-Mobile US in order to clinch a merger of the two US mobile operators, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The two have not yet held talks, but negotiations are expected to start once the current spectrum auction is over in the US, the report said.
When the companies held merger talks two and a half years ago, SoftBank sought control of the merged group, with T-Mobile's owner Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder. T-Mobile was worth around USD 30 billion at the time, but its market value has since risen to more than USD 50 billion as it overtook Sprint as the third-largest mobile operator by subscribers. Sprint's market value is around USD 36 billion, roughly the same as in 2014.
Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges has said in recent months that the German company is no longer willing to part with T-Mobile, prompting SoftBank to explore a new strategy towards a potential combination, the people said. While SoftBank is still open to discussing other options, it is now willing to surrender control of Sprint and retain a minority stake in a merger with T-Mobile, the sources said.
